Number 19. October of 1999.

Eastern Guara Mountain Chain

THE FIRST EMPLACEMENTS:
The Eastern zone of the Guara Mountain Chain, would be straddled, almost lock,
stock and barrel, in the region known as the Somontano (under mountain
lands) of Barbastro. The territory is lifted between 1.000 and 1.500 ms. and
exceptionally 1.868 m. in the cliff of Cabezo de Guara. It presents a
series of parallel mountains chains mutually, with the spurs directed toward
the flatness: Arangol, Balcés, Sevil and Rufas that they delimit
the superior sections of the Alcanadre, Isuala or Balcés and the
Vero rivers. All they carry North-South path , but this last abandons
it, to be directed toward Barbastro. They are the principal protagonists
of the landscape, the sandstones and calcareous conjugated with the torrential
waters that give fantastic forms, an assorted ravines and throats stage: Formiga,
Peonera, Gorgas Negras, Mascún, .... and secondary ravines whose waters
meet in the Alcanadre river. The cannons of the Balcés river are
the longest; the river reflects between walls sometimes of 500 m. of drop. `Oscuros'
or obscure places (300 ms.) and narrow places are combined in the splashed waterfalls
tour and badinas (isolated river areas). They are more accessible the
cannons of the Vero. During a tour of 8 Km., between Lecina and Alquézar
they are happened the cliffs, meanders, and channels through five throats: Lecina,
Obscure, Clusas, Villacantal and Castillo. The ravines of the Choca
and Fornocal are joined to the Vero completing, with its karstic
sforms, the landscapes glass-case. The topography is going descending from the
high walls that between 900 and 1.000 m. of altitude master the sites of
Radiquero, Colungo and Alquézar until 500 m. of the part southern.
* GEOLOGICALLY, the Western and Eastern
Guara mountain chain form part of the External Mountains Chains of then Pre-Pyrenees
or Marginal Mountains Chains. In this zone there are strong alignments whose
maximum increases are formed by calcareous materials of the Eocene, being its
maximum expression the Tozal de Guara (2.077). A corresponding waterproof
socle to the typical KEUPER clayey red (Secondary Era; Triasic) form generally
the shaft of the anticlinals; the plasticity of these materials is what permitted
the sliding of others and to produce the various foldingss that exist; it flourishs
in different places but always to the South. To the West there is a band between
the damming of Arguis and Nueno (where the tunnels) until the
Ravine of the Clusa Valley; it leaves again to setting of the Gabardiella Mountain
Chain being lengthened southward in a close band, until Santa Eulalia La
Mayor. In the Central Sector of the Mountain Chain, there is other flourishments:
in the Ravine of the Valleys, ascending from be located almost horizontal to
the massive by below of the Tozal de Guara. There are sources in this
zone; some accuse its saline nature: Fuente Salada or of the Matel.
Other flourishment of the Keuper is in the tectonic window that the Alcanadre
has dug to the East of the peak of the Cabeza, between the Gorgas
Negras and the Garganta de Barasil, in the place known as Chasa
de Rodella; here it can be observed the plait capsized, it constituted by
eocenes calcareous, but in its dismantled hinge appear the calcareous
secondary trainings of the cretacic, with marls and plasters of Keuper.
The cretacic of calcareous sandy is always flourishing jointly with the Keuper.
Its age is Santoniense-Campaniense and its power mean is more or less
uniform all over the mountains chains (some 50 m.). To the calcareous them continue
some red deposits of lacustrine type, constituted by clays and a power between
50 and 100 m.. The trainings eocenes cover the lion's share of the North
zone and they are represented also toward the East; to the West is simplified.
It is surprising the potent development of the calcareous (almost always of
the Luteciense) and whose thickness is going from 400 m. in the Mountain
Chain of Gabardiella to 500-1.000 ms. of that of Guara one and 800-1.000 between
the Balcés and Vero mountains chains, being their maximum thickness
of 1.100 m. in the anticlinal of Boltaña. In the base of this calcarerous
package , it is initiated a stones conglomerate very well rolled, mainly quartz;
it's continued a section of marls and alternative sandstones, then the calcareous
with nunmulites and alga levels in the roof.
The color of all this set it is gray, but when there are sands, it is more reddish.
This calcareous bulk of Guara, is folded in several anticlinals and sinclinals
and it is continued with that of Balcés mountain chain. The paleocene
ends here with a prevailing sandstones transgression, clays and marls and a
facies of transition maritime - continental constituted for a bank of calcareous
of algae or coral, as in Santa Maria de la Peña. The so characteristic
conglomerates that are found between the calcareous of the mountains chains
and the sandstones and marls of the plains, they are of the Aquitaniense
Age (Miocene, Terciary). It appears in discontinuous large bulks in lenticular
forms; they are formed by songs well rolled, of average volume, of quartz and
little-quartz (the cement that joins them is calcareous). The flat zones of
the South, they are nearly all covered of sandstones and marls of the Miocene;
there is important deposits of vertebrates, for example in Santa Cilia
and Ayerbe. The phenomena KARSTICS are more abundant in this zone since
the important thickness of the bulks calcareous and the karstic behavior of
the conglomerates facilitate it. The flourishments calcareous and by this, the
absorption zones of the water, are greater, emphasizing from among them, the
holes of Guara or Llanos de Cupierlo, zone of large dolinas (depression
of karstic origin and oval-shaped form) that perhaps will be the captation zone
of the Solencio of Bastarás and the sources of Covacha.
The structure demonstrates us great number of defects of North East to South-WestO
and abundant very small breaks how much more us we approach to the anticlinal
of Boltaña. All these breaks agree address with the different galleries
of the Solencio of Bastarás. The anticlinals structures and the dip of the strata
make to coincide the underground drainage. The phreatic level can be the marls
and sandstones but it does not seem be fulfilled in all the points. The exit
to the foreign, gives various salty water springs and mining - medicinal.
* HISTORICALLY in 1.966 begins its knowledge
, the Espeleological Group of Badalona (Barcelona) and thereinafter `Peña
Guara' of Huesca. After the first decrease to the Grallera of Guara
- well of 277 m. of depth (August of 1.966)- is begun that of Solencio de
Bastarás (to the North of this village) subsequently. Until August of 1.968
had been explored and topograhied 7.200 m.; in 1980 was increased to
8.000 ms. and in 1.989, 8.243 m.. Without doubt, this Solencio de Bastarás
is the most known cavity of the zone ; for its exploration one must to take
cautions, above all as compared to the unexpected waters rise. In May of 1.971
cost the life three "speleogy-men". The second decrease to the Grallera de
Guara was made in December of 1.972 and was located a window to 242 m. of
depth; in 1.978 was given a total depth of 292 m. In the years 70, in the Cueva
de Chaves was discovered, by the Peña Guara Group a numerous archaeological
material, whose dated corresponds to the Upper Paleolithic.
* CLIMATOLOGICALLY is conditioned for a
greater height, that provides greater dampness; on the other hand the breakthrough
Mediterranean permits cultivation as the tree and the almond-tree. It is found
more protected of the Cierzo (North wind) and presents irregularity in
rains cadence, with a "thermometrical" extent that is seen reduced in 2 or 3
degrees respect to flat. The Winters are more soft (- 4.5º of average in January),
though as of 800 m. the decrease thermal own of the height reduces it in 3º
and 4º of Middle Temperature (23.7º in July for the southern sector). The rainfalls
oscillate between 495 mm. of the South zone and 700 mm. in topmost zones. The
rain maximum it is produced in the Spring. The hydrographical regime is submitted
to strong swellings given the torrential character of the water courses, that
makes dangerous the decreases. In fact, that sports activity already it has
been collected lives. In the mountains chains masters the pinegrove with box.
The degradation of the brand rainfalls a change toward the evergreen-oak grove
that very demoted, is seen substituted by the small holm oak wood, kermes gall,
box and rosemary. The repopulation is of pine-laricio.
* DEMOGRAPHICALLY this zone is the most
representative of the abandonment of the kernels of population. The industrial
summit that is begun in 1.960 attracted fundamentally to Catalonia, above all
population young. They have been attempt of rehabilitation and recovery by youths
with ways of life bound to the philosophy of "las comunas" (municipality). The
lack of infrastructure adapted, services and more yet, the access difficulties,
let reduced the population to irreversible limits. Generally they are peoples
to much height that they preserve historical and cultural past remains and that
in some has disappeared with the I despoil and with the progressive ruin.
* The RESOURCES are fundamentally the
cattle-raising and the agriculture always with a property structure of minimal
dimensions (sometimes less than a hectare.). Today most of the lands are abandoned,
by their difficult access. They are alone cultivated the most next to the kernels
of population and the better. The subsequent leases to the emigration, they
did not gave the anticipated fruit; they did not improve and is devalued little
by little. Soil, swindled gave a step to the juniper and other species, etc.,
... The wheat occupied the lion's share of the lands, substituted today by the
fed that is sold in Binéfar or in Lérida for feeds. There are
cultivation, as the almond-tree, grove and grapevine that are sheltered in the
greater kindness of the climate; the one which more is maintained is the almond-tree
(Adahuesca, Panzano, Alquézar). The olive-tree alone feeds the local
consumption. The linen and the hemp, they have disappeared of the Pre-Pyrenee.
Alquézar attempts to recover the grapevine. As cultivation of familiar
type it has been studied that of espicol or lavanda, very abundant
in the abandoned zones of sunlights and marly soils above 1.000 m. The grasss
of Guara they are some of the vastest and rich of the Pre-Pyrenee . They
have the advantage of the fact that the herds do not need be moved of the term
in Winter (climate more moderate). It has been a strong cattle regression complementing
the own utilization, the goats cattle and some chickens and pork farms. The
population is recovered in the Summer with the tourism. The hundred and inhabitants
peak of Adahuesca, are converted in more than 450 in the summer era;
they are accepted in particular houses and in chalets built by ancient resident
that they live in Barcelona, Zaragoza or Huesca. The ancient town
of Rodellar is very visited by its privileged site on the cliffs of the
ravine of Mascún. It receives the visit of many fans to the river decreases
and they proceed of France and Catalonia. Thus it has resurged Alquézar
Arabic strength, that received the statement from Artistic Historical Set: its
"stoned" streets, with central littles canals to collect the water, deviously
descend until the ancient castle that masters the Vero river. Today Alquézar
this being very it visited by French tourists; a pair of hotels, the Inn of
the Vero to the entry of the people and some particular foods house, complete
the minimal inkeeper infrastructure of this Arabic locality, that with Albarracín
(Teruel province), can be considered as one of the nicest peoples of Aragon.
From 27 of December of 1.990, was considered ·PARK OF THE MOUNTAIN
CHAIN AND CANNONS OF GUARA·.